


Too Little, Too Late

by Shi_Toyu



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Trailer, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt Avengers, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Tony Stark, POV Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Feels, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 13:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13032222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: Thanos has come, but the Avengers are still split, leaving Iron Man to face him alone. There's no way the others can get there in time. Instead, trapped in Wakanda, Steve and the rest of the team can do nothing but watch.





	Too Little, Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> So this was hugely inspired by the Infinity War trailer and the fact that we see Tony fighting Thanos alone and then _never see him in any of the group battle scenes._ If they kill him, I will never watch another Marvel movie. I promise you that.

“ ** _Steve!_** ”

Steve’s head snaps up at Sam’s yell, desperate and _terrified_. He’s on his feet before he even processes it fully, sprinting down the hall of the wing of the Wakandan palace where they’ve been hiding out all this time and instinctively reaching for a shield that isn’t there anymore. He skids to a halt at the door to their communal living space, having to grab onto the door jam to keep from going past. Wild eyes take in his team, what’s left of it, searching for injuries.

The television is on, he can hear some news report but ignores it, doesn’t pay attention to the words. Most of the team is focused on whatever’s on the show, but Sam is looking at him. He has one hand on the back of his head, the other covering his mouth. He looks as bad as he sounded. Even Nat looks shaken, _devastated_ , trembling faintly as she watches the television.

 _Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God-_ There’s been another invasion or there’s some supervillain attack or Tony’s done _something._

Steve’s long legs eat up the space between him and the couch so he can see what everyone else is seeing and he finally tunes into the broadcast. His heart nearly stops in his chest.

The news anchor is shouting into her microphone, talking about the giant portal mechanism that appeared above New York City, about Spiderman and Vision showing up to help, about a man named Dr. Strange. About Iron Man. Behind her is a towering behemoth – huge and purple. The size of the Hulk? Bigger? He seems just as destructive.

Iron Man is facing it alone.

“-helping to evacuate civilians while Iron Man confronts this clearly hostile being! We still don’t have any information about where it came from, other than through the portal, but the question everyone’s asking is: Will Iron Man be enough to stop it? Will what’s left of the Avengers be able to protect New York from this threat, the biggest we’ve seen since the team’s split, without their other members?”

Dirt flies in a spectacular arc as Iron Man is punched into the ground, skidding along and leaving a trough in his wake. Steve finds himself leaning forward as the armor struggles back to its feet. Steve’s whole body is tight with energy, thrumming with the need to _go,_ to _help_ , to do anything but just stand here and _watch_.

The purple alien laughs as it strides forward casually to tower over Iron Man, over _Tony_. It says something the camera can’t pick up, and the news anchor is talking over it anyway, but Steve sees the way Tony shakes his head, how the armor’s shoulders press back and he stands tall. Defiant.

_I could do this all day._

He doesn’t know what Tony says to the being, but he can bet it wasn’t nice, and then he’s being knocked off his feet once again by a backhand. His helmet makes contact with the ground first, and Steve doesn’t need to hear Clint’s pained hiss to know that that was a _bad_ angle. Part of him wants to run right back out of the room, to wherever T’Challa is, to demand they get a plane in the air _right fucking now_.

He knows it’s already too late. They couldn’t get there in time.

Tony is struggling on the screen, pushed up on his hands and knees but not seeming able to get any further.

“Come on,” Steve hears Scott murmur lowly. “Come on, come _on_. Get _up!_ ”

The giant purple alien is stomping forward, the news anchor is in hysterics, and all Steve wants to do is _get between it and Tony_.

Not Tony. Please, dear God, not Tony. He was supposed to call! Steve sent him that phone so he could call! Please, not like this. Please, please, don’t let it end like this.

It grabs the armor by the helmet, its hand covering Tony’s head completely, and lifts him, shaking him like a ragdoll. It’s horrible to watch. Steve feels ill staring at the screen, watching Tony’s hands scramble uselessly against the alien’s wrist. He wants to be able to _do_ something. _Anything_. He feels like he’s ninety pounds soaking wet in a back alley of Brooklyn, lying in the dirt, in too much pain to move, while a mugger makes off with a woman’s purse. He feels like he’s crouched on the floor of a train, leaning out as far as he can, arm outstretched, watching as Bucky falls. He feels like he’s in a Nazi plane over the ocean, on the line with Peggy and knowing he’s not going to make their date.

There’s nothing he can do.

The alien makes a pinwheel motion with his arm, swinging Tony around and then slamming him into the ground. One huge foot lifts and then comes down hard on the armor’s chest, a crushing blow. Then he does it again. And again.

There’s bile rising in Steve’s throat as he remembers doing the same with the shield. If he hadn’t left Tony, if he’d been able to find some other way, if Tony had just _listened_ …

But…

Bucky.

Tears are streaming down the news anchor’s face as the alien turns away and leaves Tony broken in the dirt, armor and body both shattered.

The room is silent. Nobody moves. Nobody says a word.

The Avengers mourn.

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah... There's that...
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> [ Say hi on Tumblr! ](https://shi-toyu.tumblr.com/)
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> 
> This is the last of the one-shots I have to upload currently, which leaves 8 spaces free until I reach 200 posted fics! I will be opening these 8 spaces up for commisions on Tumblr this coming week, so make sure you don't miss out!


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